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OSU didn't stop Pead from joining UC
By Bill Koch ? [email protected] ? September 23, 2009
One of the first things University of Cincinnati assistant coach Tim Hinton noticed when he showed up for his home visit with running back Isaiah Pead was an Ohio State banner on the front door of the house.
"His grandpa has an Ohio State room," Hinton said. "When you grow up in Columbus, it's like that. I was a little nervous when I first walked in, I can tell you that. I felt like this is going to be a long evening."
That Ohio State room is located right outside Pead's bedroom in the basement. It has an Ohio State vending machine, an A.J. Hawk picture and a host of other Buckeyes' memorabilia.
Not only was Pead's grandpa an Ohio State fan, as a youngster he played football with Archie Griffin, a Buckeye icon who won two Heisman Trophies.
"He told me the stories all the time," Pead said. "He played with Archie Griffin in little league on the north side of Columbus. Going into high school, Archie moved to the east side, which was Eastmoor (Academy) and my grandfather moved to Linden McKinley."
Pead attended Eastmoor Academy, where he broke Griffin's career rushing record. If anyone ever seemed destined to play at Ohio State, it was Pead.
But Pead had other ideas. He didn't want to venture too far from home, but he didn't want to play in Columbus, either.
He looked down the road and liked what Brian Kelly was doing at UC with his spread offense, similar to what he ran in high school, so Hinton had a receptive audience despite the banner on the door.
"The OSU coaches were like, if you come here, you come here," Pead said. "If you don't, that's fine. We'll get the next guy. I felt like these coaches, they cared about you. Hinton had been recruiting me since I was a sophomore. I felt like I knew him on a personal level.
"He told me one time if you want to be the best in the nation you have to compete with the best in the nation. I don't care if Ohio State is after you. I don't care that all these other big teams are after you, I want you, too. I liked that. I respected that."
OSU didn't stop Pead from joining UC | Cincinnati.com | The Cincinnati Enquirer
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